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ROAD SAFETY ANNUAL REPORT 2019

GREECE

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2019 | GREECE

© INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 2019 2

Country Profile

Population in 2018: 10.7 million

GDP per capita in 2018: 20 299 USD

Cost of road crashes: 1.5% of GDP (2017)

Registered motor vehicles in 2018: 8.2 million

(cars 64%; goods vehicles 16%; motorcycles 19%)

Speed limits: 50 km/h on urban roads; 90 km/h on rural roads; 130 km/h on motorways

Limits on Blood Alcohol Content: 0.5 g/l for general drivers; 0.2 g/l for professional drivers and novice drivers

GREECE

Greece recorded 700 road fatalities in 2018 – a 4.2% decrease on 2017, continuing its

dramatic decrease in road deaths in this decade. The mortality rate stands at 6.5 traffic

deaths per 100 000 inhabitants. The economic crisis during the recent years is the

primary reason for the sharp decline in the number of road casualties as a result of

decreased distances travelled and more economic, conservative use of motor vehicles,

amongst other factors. The National Road Safety Strategic Plan extends until 2020 and

has adopted a fatalities reduction target of 50% on a 2010 baseline. Greece is on track to

achieve its target for 2020.

Trends

Greece registered an overall

decrease in the number of road

deaths in 2018. According to the

latest preliminary data, 700 persons

lost their lives in traffic crashes in

Greece in 2018. This represents a

4.2% decline on 2017. In 2017, 731

road deaths were reported, itself an

11.3% decline on 2016.

The longer-term trend for road

deaths in Greece has shown

significant progress. Between 2000

and 2018, the number of annual road fatalities fell by 66%. This progress accelerated, in

particular, during the second decade of the century: between 2010 and 2018 the number

of annual road fatalities fell by 44%.

The number of traffic deaths per 100 000 inhabitants in Greece has fallen by 65%

between 2000 and 2018. In 2018, 6.5 traffic deaths per 100 000 inhabitants were

recorded compared to 18.7 in 2000. By way of comparison, the average in the European

Union is 4.9 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants in 2018.

Greece recorded 0.8 road fatalities per 10 000 registered vehicles in 2018. This

represents a decrease of 79% compared to the year 2000, when the rate of deaths to

registered vehicles stood at 4.0.



Figure 1. Road safety, vehicle stock and GDP trends Index 2000 = 100

The graph for fatalities by road user groups shows that passenger car occupants

continue to be the group most affected by road crashes. Motorcyclist fatalities also

comprise a sizeable share of total road fatalities in Greece. In 2017, passenger car

occupants accounted for the largest share of road deaths with 39% of the total. They

were followed by motorcyclists (30%), pedestrians (16%) and moped riders (4%).

Moped riders suffered 7 more road deaths in 2017 than in 2016, making them the only

group to register a year-on-year increase in fatalities according to data from 2017.

Cyclists saw the largest proportional year-on-year decrease, with 7 fewer road fatalities

in 2017 than the year prior (-38.9%). They were followed by pedestrians with 31 fewer

(-20.8%), passenger car occupants with 54 fewer (-15.9%) and motorcyclists with 24

fewer (-10%).

The long-term trend shows that traffic in Greece has become safer for all road user

groups. The strongest declines were registered among pedestrians, passenger car

occupants and moped riders, who all experienced annual road fatality reductions of

greater than 65% between 2000 and 2017.

The user group that has benefitted least from road safety improvements since 2000 are

motorcyclists, who saw the number of annual crash deaths fall by 48%.



Figure 2. Road fatalities by road user group in percentage of total, 2017

Road deaths by age group in 2017 showed some changes compared to 2016. The

number of road deaths decreased for the elderly above 65 (-18.6%) and 21-24 year olds

(-30.1%). Conversely, 18-20 year olds experienced 14 more fatal casualties in 2017

(+50%) than the year prior.

Looking at the longer-term trend, since 2000, the number of road deaths decreased for

all groups. The strongest fatality reductions over this period occurred among young

people; every age category up to 25 years old saw fatalities fall by 70% or greater

between 2000 and 2017. The oldest age range – those above 75 – benefitted the least

from road safety improvements during this time as road fatalities for this age group

decreased by 41%.

Despite recent improvements, young people continue to be the age group at highest risk

in traffic with a mortality rate much above the average. Greek road users between 18-20

and 21-24 years of age suffered traffic fatalities at rates of 13 and 11.5 per 100 000

persons, respectively, in 2017 compared to a national average of 6.8 per 100 000.

Elderly people are also at significant risk in road traffic; road users above 75 years of age

registered a mortality rate of 9.2 fatalities per 100 000 persons.



Figure 3. Road fatality rates by age group, 2000-2017 Deaths per 100 000 population in a given age group

Figure 4. Road fatality rate by age and road user group, 2017

Fatalities per 100 000 population

Analysis of fatalities by road type shows that Greek rural and urban road networks

were equally deadly in 2017. In 2017, 46% of deaths occurred on rural roads, 47% on

urban roads and 7% on motorways. In the period 2000-2010, rural roads consistently

claimed more victims than did roads in urban areas. Since 2010, however, this

repartition has flipped. In the years since, roads in urban areas have generally been the

setting for more road fatalities than rural roads.

In 2017, in comparison to 2016, the number of road deaths decreased by 20.4% on

urban roads, while road deaths decreased by 4.3% on rural roads. Motorways saw 9

additional road fatalities compared to 2016 for a year-on-year increase of 20%.



Since 2000, fatalities in urban areas decreased by 51%, on rural roads by 74% and on

motorways by 12%. Since 2010, road fatalities in both urban areas and on rural roads

decreased by about 40%, indicating that rural roads saw stronger road safety

improvements in the first decade of the century.

Figure 5. Road fatalities by road type

Figure 6. Evolution of road deaths by user category, age group and road type,

2010-2017

Fatality data are essential to understand road safety issues but hardly sufficient.

Information on serious injuries from crashes is also critically important. Yet, injury

data are much more difficult to obtain, validate and - where available - compare. In

2017, Greece recorded 13 271 traffic related injuries and 706 serious injuries. Since



2010, injuries and serious injuries counts have fallen by 31% and 59%, respectively - a

development consistent with the reduction in road fatalities during this time.

Economic costs of road crashes

Traffic crashes represent a significant cost for society, estimated in 2017 at around

EUR 2.7 billion, representing almost 1.5% of Greece’s GDP (Kourtis et al., 2018). This

calculation uses a combination of the lost production methodology and the willingness-to-

pay methodology.

The cost is almost tripled if the real numbers of injuries and of “material damage only”

crashes are taken into account.

Table 1. Costs of road crashes, 2017

Unit cost (EUR) Total (EUR)

Fatalities 2 148 034 1.57 billion

Serious injuries 273 574 0.19 billion

Slight injuries 51 373 0.65 billion

Property damages costs 3 582 0.24 billion

Total 2.7 billion

Total as % of GDP (at constant prices) 1.5%

Behaviour

Speeding is perhaps the most critical factor for road crashes in Greece. In 2017, based

on police reports, it was estimated that about 18% of fatalities were due to excessive or

inappropriate speeds. However, the actual percentage of fatalities due to speeding could

be higher. Speeding enforcement varied during the last decade, with a direct impact on

the progress of road safety trends. The recent, important decline in road fatalities and

speeding may be a result of the economic crisis, which served to encourage more

ecological driving. Higher fuel prices due to the crisis had a direct impact on average

speed reduction and, consequently, traffic safety improvement.

The table below summarises the main speed limits in Greece.

Table 2. Passenger car speed limits by road type, 2019

General speed limit Comments

Urban roads 50 km/h

Rural roads 90 km/h

Motorways 130 km/h Variable speed limits are implemented when variable

message signs are available



Driving under the influence of alcohol is another major cause of road crashes in

Greece, as in most IRTAD countries. In 2016, it was estimated that almost 35% of road

fatalities were attributed to drink driving. Compared to 2000, the percentage of fatalities

related to drink driving in 2016 has decreased by 12%.

According to the Greek Highway Code, the maximum permissible blood alcohol content

(BAC) is 0.5 g/l when measured by blood sample and 0.25 mg/l when measured by

breath testing. Since 2007, a lower limit (0.2 g/l) has applied to professional drivers

(heavy goods vehicles, school buses and coaches), novice drivers (holding the driving

licence for less than two years), motorcycles and moped riders.

Driving under the influence of drugs is prohibited under Greece’s Road Code. No data

are available for drug-related crashes.

An increasing problem for traffic safety in Greece is distraction, for instance through the

use of mobile phones while driving or crossing a street. In Greece, the use of a hand held

phone while driving is forbidden, although it is allowed to drive while using a hand free

device.

Seat-belt wearing has been compulsory in Greece since 1979 in front seats and from

1993 for rear seats. Children under the age of 12 must be seated in a rear seat and be

adequately restrained, taking into account their height and weight. There has been no

recent seat belt user survey. According to 2009 data, the seat belt use rate was 77% for

drivers, 74% for a front seat passenger and 23% in rear seats.

In Greece, helmets have been compulsory for users of all powered-two wheelers since

1977. The helmet-wearing rate is 75% for drivers and 46% for passengers, suggesting

that much progress stands to be made in this area.

Road safety management and strategies

There are several factors of influence on Greece’s road safety performance as

captured by the above indicators. The number of fatalities peaked in 1995 with 2 411

road deaths and achieved a record-low in 2018 with 700 deaths. During the last decade,

significant improvement was observed in road fatalities among young people, extra-

urban areas and crashes involving heavy goods vehicles. There was less improvement for

elderly road users, motorcyclists, foreign drivers and female drivers.

In the period 2010-2018, the number of annual fatalities decreased by 45%. This

relatively strong performance is in large part associated with the economic recession,

which markedly impacted traffic and travel patterns, in particular among the young

population. During the last five years, Greek drivers have improved their driving

behaviour, becoming less aggressive and reducing excessive speed as a consequence of

personal budget limitations imposed by the economic crisis. This has resulted in

significant safety improvements. Improved driving behaviour is expected to persist

through the economic recovery despite subsequent potential increase in traffic volumes.



Road safety improvements are also related to the introduction of the new Highway Code

as well as the construction of motorways, which serve to shift traffic away from high risk

rural roads. Public campaigns, enforcement and training have also contributed to an

attitude shift in favour of increased road safety.

The co-ordination of all ministries involved in road safety management is conducted by

the Inter-Ministry Committee on Road Safety, chaired by the Minister of Citizen

Protection. However, the minister’s role remains limited as the corresponding co-

ordination secretariat has never been fully operational. Some stakeholder consultation

takes place at the National Road Safety Council. Regional and local authorities implement

city mobility and road safety plans, mainly on road infrastructure and vehicle control, but

often on campaigns as well. However, there is no process to integrate national and

regional activities nor is there reporting from the regional to the national level.

Despite the three strategic plans adopted during the last decade, mobilisation of the

authorities and society remains limited and road safety is still not a recognised policy

area in practice. Furthermore, there is no identifiable budget for road safety.

The scientific community (NTUA, CERTH/HIT, Association of Greek Transportation

Engineers) also intervenes systematically to influence public opinion for safer behaviour,

safer infrastructure and mobility and safer vehicles. However, although road safety

problems and solutions are well researched in Greece, implementation of measures is

limited. Moreover, there is no official monitoring of road safety actions, no benchmarking

and little evaluation of road safety interventions that are implemented.

The third National Road Safety Strategic Plan for the period 2011-20, developed by the

NTUA, was approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks in

September 2011. The aim of this strategic plan is the development of a strong road

safety culture. The strategic plan is composed of six pillars: road safety education, road

safety enforcement, safe road users, safe road infrastructure, safe vehicles and post-

crash management.

The strategic plan adopts the European target of reducing the number of road fatalities

by 50% between 2010 and 2020. Intermediate targets include a reduction of 80 road

fatalities per year between 2010 and 2015, which has been achieved partly due to the

economic crisis, and a reduction of 50 road fatalities per year between 2016 and 2020.

Specific actions by the central and regional governments have been identified as

necessary to reach the target. A prerequisite is a strong political will and support at the

highest political level. The Inter-Ministry Committee, re-established twice (in 2010 and in

2014 under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister), is expected to play a critical role.

Even though the strategy has clearly defined the targets, the programmes and the

implementation framework, some important barriers remain such as the lack of

systematic implementation of the measures and a lack of co-ordination and monitoring.

The co-ordination instruments to support the Inter-Ministry Committee were never fully



operational and the necessary resources were never allocated to the related road safety

actions.

With 700 road deaths in 2018, Greece’s target of fewer than 629 road deaths by 2020

appears to be within reach.

Figure 7. Trends in road fatalities towards national target

Measures

The unprecedented economic crisis during the last eight years has resulted in a limited

budget for road safety initiatives in Greece.

Some road safety measures are being implemented focusing on road safety police

enforcement (for speeding, drink driving and use of seat belts and helmets) and through

road safety education and information campaigns conducted mainly by private companies

such as motorway concessionaires and NGOs. Greek universities and research institutes

carry out many road safety research projects, thus supporting road safety actions in

Greece.

Road safety management

New legislation concerning road safety audits has been introduced, which in the future

might result in more systematic audits of the road network.

Following a new law, the Inter-Ministry Committee on Road Safety was re-established

a first time in 2010 and a second time in 2014, this time under the chairmanship of

the Prime Minister. However, this Inter-Ministry Committee met in 2018 for the first

time since 2014.



Road safety management is the responsibility of both national and regional

authorities. During the last decade, more and more regional and local authorities have

established and implemented regional road safety plans, sometimes within their urban

mobility plans, which are starting to bring results.

Road users

The Highway Code was updated and has been in force since March 2018 without any

speed limit changes. However, a new fines scheme for traffic infringements has been

introduced based on driver income. Offenders that commit a high-risk infringement

three times in the last five years stand to lose their licence for life.

National, regional and local authorities regularly conduct campaigns and training on

user behaviours such as speeding, impaired driving, seat belt and helmet misuse, etc.

However, the impact of these efforts on traffic safety is unknown as no monitoring

programme exists.

Various NGOs (Road Safety Institute Panos Mylonas, EFTHYTA-Rhodes, etc.) and

private companies (motorways concessions) continue various programmes of road

safety campaigns and training.

Infrastructure

Due to the difficult economic conditions, the budget for road maintenance and safety

intervention has been significantly reduced. Nevertheless, the major motorway

development programme totalling 2 500 km of toll motorways (including the

construction of 1 300 km of new motorways) restarted in 2013 and is gradually

delivering all motorway sections during 2017. 500 km of new motorways were

delivered mid-2017.

A new legislation for Road Safety Audits was introduced in 2017, which in the future

might result in more systematic road safety audits of the road network.

Vehicles

All European Union regulations on vehicles are properly transposed into Greek

legislation resulting in higher safety standards for all new vehicles entering into

circulation in Greece. Improved passive and active safety is one of the reasons for the

significant reduction of persons killed and seriously injured in traffic crashes. It should

be noted, however, that the vehicle fleet is renewed very slowly, resulting in an

increase in the age of the vehicle fleet.



Definition, methodology, data collection

Injury crash: any crash involving at least one road motor vehicle in motion on a public

road or square to which the public has access (excluding yards, industrial sites or

vehicle depots for public transport) resulting in at least one injured or killed person.

Property damage only crashes are not included.

Road fatality: any person killed immediately or dying within 30 days as a result of an

injury crash. This national definition has applied since 1996. For the years prior to

1996 a conversion factor is applied to the fatality data in the International Road Traffic

and Accident Database.

Seriously injured person: any person who sustained an injury as result of an injury

crash, such as brain damage, mutilation or other injuries that may result in lack of

awareness or which are life-threatening. Hospital data have not been exploited yet

and the identification of serious road injuries according to the Maximum Abbreviated

Injury Scale (MAIS) definition is not possible.

From the early 1960s, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT) has maintained

Greece’s official road crash database. This contains disaggregated road crash data and

detailed information concerning drivers, road crash casualties and the vehicles involved.

Data is coded on the basis of the Road Accident Data Collection Form, which is filled in by

traffic police for every road crash with casualties.

Traffic police respond to all crashes with casualties. Officers are responsible for filling in

the Road Accident Data Collection Form and for finalising information concerning

casualties within 30 days of the crash. Data are forwarded to EL.STAT and are also stored

in the traffic police database. The EL.STAT database includes reliable and detailed

information on road crashes, persons and vehicles as well as additional elements such as

causes and conditions of the vehicles.

The Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks is responsible for vehicle

registration and driver licensing. It maintains databases of registered vehicles and

licensed drivers. The registered vehicles database includes disaggregated information on

vehicle characteristics such as vehicle type and use, year of first registration, length,

weight, engine size, fuel type, manufacturer, etc. This database does not include mopeds

(data for the number of mopeds in operation come from the traffic police, who are

responsible for moped registration and moped driver licensing). Scrapped vehicles are

systematically removed from the database. The driver license database includes

disaggregated information on driver characteristics such as license type and year, the

related vehicle type, license renewal or modification, age, gender, etc. However,

deceased drivers are not systematically removed from the database.

Data on the severity of injuries are not systematically collected by hospitals; only road

fatalities are properly reported. Consequently, it is not currently possible to have data on

serious injuries based on the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS).



Resources

Recent research

Road safety research is constantly progressing in Greece, with several interesting results

published in Greece and worldwide. Several of these research results are available at:

http://www.nrso.ntua.gr/

Papadimitriou, E., A. Argyropoulou, D. Tselentis and G. Yannis (2019), Analysis of driver

behaviour through smartphone data: The case of mobile phone use while driving, Safety

Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2019.05.059

Websites

Hellenic Statistical Authority: http://www.statistics.gr/

Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks: http://www.yme.gr

Road Safety Observatory of the National Technical University of Athens:

https://www.nrso.ntua.gr/

The Centre for Research and Technology Hellas: https://www.certh.gr/

Road Safety Institute Panos Mylonas: https://www.ioas.gr/

EFTHITA-Rhodes: http://efthita-rodos.blogspot.com/

References

Kourtis, M., Ziakopoulos, A. and Yannis, G. (2018), Modelling the economic impact of

road accidents in Greece, Diploma Thesis, NTUA, School of Civil Engineering, Athens, July

2018.

http://www.nrso.ntua.gr/

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2019.05.059

http://www.statistics.gr/

http://www.yme.gr/

https://www.nrso.ntua.gr/

https://www.certh.gr/

https://www.ioas.gr/

http://efthita-rodos.blogspot.com/



Road safety and traffic data

Note: registered vehicles do not include mopeds.

1990 2000 2010 2016 2017 2018 2016 2010 2000 1990

Reported safety data

Fatalities 2 050 2 037 1 258 824 731 700 -11.3% -41.9% -64.1% -64.3%

Injury crashes 19 609 23 001 15 032 11 318 10 848 10 743 -4.2% -27.8% -52.8% -44.7%

Deaths per 100,000 population 20.3 18.7 11.2 7.6 6.8 6.5 -11.2% -39.7% -63.7% -66.5%

Deaths per 10,000 registered

vehicles7.4 4.0 1.6 1.0 0.9 0.8 -12.3% -43.3% -78.0% -88.0%

Fatalities by road user

Pedestrians 524 375 179 149 118 .. -20.8% -34.1% -68.5% -77.5%

Cyclists 26 22 23 18 11 .. -38.9% -52.2% -50.0% -57.7%

Moped riders 192 90 36 25 32 .. 28.0% -11.1% -64.4% -83.3%

Motorcyclists 274 412 367 240 216 .. -10.0% -41.1% -47.6% -21.2%

Passenger car occupants 712 891 546 340 286 .. -15.9% -47.6% -67.9% -59.8%

Other road users 322 247 107 52 68 .. 30.8% -36.4% -72.5% -78.9%

Fatalities by age group

0-14 years 96 40 30 19 12 .. -36.8% -60.0% -70.0% -87.5%

15-17 years 76 60 39 16 17 .. 6.3% -56.4% -71.7% -77.6%

18-20 years 183 156 73 28 42 .. 50.0% -42.5% -73.1% -77.0%

21-24 years 249 219 113 73 51 .. -30.1% -54.9% -76.7% -79.5%

25-64 years 1 051 1 107 711 447 414 .. -7.4% -41.8% -62.6% -60.6%

65-74 years .. 241 113 98 82 .. -16.3% -27.4% -66.0% ..

≥ 75 years .. 187 155 138 110 .. -20.3% -29.0% -41.2% ..

Fatalities by road type

Urban roads .. 694 593 427 340 .. -20.4% -42.7% -51.0% ..

Rural roads .. 1 282 578 352 337 .. -4.3% -41.7% -73.7% ..

Motorways .. 61 87 45 54 .. 20.0% -37.9% -11.5% ..

Traffic data

Registered vehicles

(thousands)2 780 5 061 8 062 8 173 8 263 8 237 1.1% 2.5% 63.3% 197.2%

Registered vehicles per 1,000

population274.7 464.2 720.9 757.9 767.4 766.9 1.2% 6.4% 65.3% 179.4%

2017 % change over

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